The first city walls of the Carian city of Physkos were built around 3000 BC. The ruins of Physkos can still be found on Asartepe, on the northeastern slopes of Beldibi in Marmaris.

In the 7th century BC, the ancient city of Loryma was established in the area known today as Sömbeki Bay, Bozukkale, and Taşlıca.

In 546 BC, Persian rule began in the region.

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great occupied the area.

During the 1300s, Marmaris became an important port town.

In 1451, the region came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1522, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent set out on the Rhodes Campaign and arrived in Marmaris with an army of approximately 100,000 soldiers. Upon returning from the Rhodes expedition, the present-day Marmaris Castle was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman.

Between 1800 and 1801, the British Navy took shelter in Marmaris Bay and carried out what is considered the world’s first planned military exercise before the Egyptian Campaign.

In 1867, Marmaris officially became a district of Muğla Province and its first district governor was appointed.

In 1913, during World War I, a German battleship sought refuge in Marmaris Harbor.

In 1914, the French Navy bombarded Marmaris Castle, causing severe destruction.

In 1920, following the Treaty of Sèvres and an agreement between Italy and Greece, the Italian army occupied the region.

On July 22, 1922, Italian troops withdrew from Marmaris.

Between 1933 and 1935, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk visited Marmaris as part of his tours across Türkiye to closely observe the progress of the reforms of the Republic.